The ‘luminous’ hand of Cano

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Horizontes by Francisco Cano.
Horizontes by Francisco Cano.

An exhibition entitled ‘Francisco Antonio Cano: la mano luminosa (Cano: The Luminous Hand)’ launched September at the National Museum and displays some 80 works by a painter who drew inspiration from the European greats.

Born in Yarumal, Antioquia, in 1865, Francisco Cano became one of the most important and interesting academic painters of the country, renowned for his portraits and precursor of the genre of landscape painting in a part of the country known as the Viejo Caldas: encompassing the departments of Antioquia, Caldas and Risaralda.

Cano was an admirer of country life, and the purity of the outdoors. This is evident in most of his works, as well as the idiosyncrasy of Antioquia: its traits, roots, and peculiarities. Although he was heavily influenced by the European schools at the end of the 19th century, he was an accurate drawer, with discrete coloring, who developed skilled personal traits in composition and perspective.

Cano is also known for being an important art teacher, promoter of academic studies, providing a fresher and newer outlook of art at that time. Most of his students, while directing the Institute of Fine Arts in Medellín in 1810, excelled not only in painting, but also in sculpture; for Cano was able to shape an entire generation of ‘Antioqueños’ in art.

In 1923, Cano was named Director of the School of Fine Arts in Bogotá, where he continued to hand down his knowledge of the medium. His love of beauty, refined taste and passion for painting were fundamental values and in 1930, he was elected a Member of the Academia Colombiana de Bellas Artes, a cultural entity dedicated to promoting and protecting Colombia’s artistic heritage.

The exhibition is curated by art historian Santiago Londoño Vélez author of many books such as The history of painting and engraving in Antioquia; Colombian Art: 3,500 years of history; Botero, the invention of an aesthetics, among others. He has curated many exhibitions and is also the author of various catalogues for contemporary art exhibitions.

As an expert on Cano’s life and repertoire, Londoño, presents the visitor with an overview of the thematic, technical and stylistic diversity developed by Cano, as well as a chronological journey that demonstrates the transformation of a self-taught craftsman of rural origin, to an independent structured artist. What is considered most important – by art historians and critics – is that Cano was a pioneer in examining, and capturing, the cultural identity of Antioquia.

The ‘Luminous hand’ is divided into four thematic areas. The first includes some of his early work done in the municipality of Yarumal (Antioquia) where he was born.

A second section presents Cano’s work during his stay in both Medellin and Paris. In Antioquia’s capital, the artist studied and taught painting and devoted himself primarily to portraiture. Among the works of his years in Paris, the drawings of nudes captivated his attention and he created many of them, as well as paintings influenced by the French impressionists of the Belle Époque.

The third section displays creations upon his return to Medellín where he became recognized as a sculptor and working on commission for private en- tities. During this intensely creative period, he also did outstanding drawings of landscapes and illustrations for local newspapers and magazines.

The fourth and final section is dedicated to his years in the capital, where he continued to work on historical paintings and sculptures “made to order.” In this period, he produced various works with academic overtones, and others taken from a personal inspiration and interest, reaffirming his important stature in the diversity of genres.

Visitors to the exhibition can appreciate his most outstanding works: such as Horizontes, (Horizons), an icon in the history of the ‘Antioqueño’s’ colonization; La Costurera, (The Seamstress) and portraits of Carolina Cárdenas – an activ- ist on women’s rights. Exhibited also is a unique work titled, La niña de las rosas (The girl of roses) and many studies for the religious work Cristo del Perdón (Christ of Forgiveness).

This exhibition is a joint venture between the Colombian Ministry of Culture, the Museo Nacional de Colombia and the Museo de Antioquia.

Museo Nacional / Cra 7 N. 28-66.

 

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